Storage plant and process of storing cotton and the like



Dec. 6, 1938. o. F. BLEDSOE 2,139,182

3 STORAGE PLANT AND PROCESS OF STORING COTTON AND THE LIKE Original Filed Feb. 18, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 @Himmmg 0. F. BLEDSOE STORAGE PLANT AND PROCESS OF STORING COTTON AND THE LIKE Original Filed Feb. 18, 1935 4 Sheets-Shed; Z

,193s. QFBLEDSOE 2,139,182

STORAGE PLANT AND PROCESS OF STORING COTTON AND THE LIKE Original Filed Feb. 18, 1935' 4 Sheets-Sheet s GMIWA 6, 1938. I o F. BLEDS-OE- STORAGE PLANT AND PROCESS OF STORING COTTON AND THE LIKE Original Filed Feb. 18, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 m R I Patented Dec. 6, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Oscar Fitzalan Bledsoe, Greenwood, Miss.

Original application February 18,

1935, Serial No.

7,110. Divided and this application May .14, 1935, Serial NO. 21,455

7 Claims.

This invention relates to the handling of cotton or similar materials, the invention particularly involving the handling and storage of baled cotton and the like which presents serious problems when stored in large quantities in the customary manner due to the inflammable nature thereof. Additionallythe invention involves the storage of the bales of cotton in contact with air which is sufficiently humid to cause the moisture content of the cotton to be continuously maintained to a degree which will prevent the drying of the natural oil therefrom, and, therefore, the cotton which is spun into yarn within a reasonable time after removal from storage will have retained its natural oil and its initial tensile strength.

Since cotton is grown and harvested annually, it is necessary that a large portion of the crop be stored until such time as it is purchased and transported to the mills for spinning into yarn and subsequent operations. During normal years in the past the cotton after being subjected to a ginning operation has been pressed into bales and placed in storage Wherethe bales were averagely maintained for a period of between six and eight months because of the inability of the mills to more quickly spin the entire crop of cotton produced or because the demand for cotton yarn did not warrant an increased production. It has been customary to store the bales of cotton in warehouses which have been particularly constructed for that purpose, and, since a bale of cotton as initially pressed is normally twentyseven inches by fifty-four inches by forty-eight inches and weighs approximately five hundred pounds, it has been found that the large space required for the storage of the bales results in such investments in the erection and maintenance of the warehouses that a reasonable storage charge covering the long average period of storage necessitates a charge to the grower which is extremely burdensome.

Many warehouses have been constructed of wood or other rather low cost material with the View to maintaining a low initial investment, but, since in the use of such warehouses there is an everpresent threat of coniiagration, the insurance rates are of necessity so high that the total storage charge to the grower is burdensome. It will be seen that where there is arelatively high initial investment in the construction of a warehouse having certain safeguards for the protection of the cotton, the total storage charge must be an important factor to the grower notwithstanding the'fact that the rate of insurance is materially reduced, whereas, if a .low cost ware- (Cl. Bil-54) houseis c onstructed without the recognized safeguards, then the total storage charge is still burdensome tothe grower because of the increased risk assumed by the insurer and the resultant increased insurance rate.

As the better constructed warehouses are preferred notwithstanding 'the initial cost thereof, the tendency has been toward erecting such warehouses while utilizing the available space to the fullest extent. It has, therefore, become the customto .lclosely position the bales Within the warehouses as .well as to stack them in double tiers, but such packing of the bales increases the likelihood of conflagration, the bales when so positioned being particularly subject to flash, -fire. Then, too, when the bales are closely stacked they themselves constitute obstacles when an attempt is being made to extinguish a fire upon thediscovery of one in the Warehouse. In the handling of bales of cotton in storage it is nece'ssary-thatthey be sampled and reweighed at desired times and the tendency to closely stack the bales in double tiers results in the handling of many bales which would not have to be moved if it were practicable to position the bales so that they would all be readily available for sampling and reweighing.

In View of the tendency ,to closely pack the bales in the warehouses, rules have been promulgated by the insurance companies and the risk assumed with respect to one conflagration is limited to not more than five thousand bales of cotton. Fire walls are therefore necessary between the storage warehouse accommodating five thousand bales of cotton and another closely adjacent warehouse. Sprinkler systems for extinguishing fires .within the Warehouse have also been installed in many of the warehouses, but this additional cost tends further to increase the 'legitimatestorage charges. 1

It is an object of the present invention to overcome the problems heretofore encountered in the storage of cotton and the like, and the invention contemplates the provision of a storage plant in whichthebales of fibers are stored in unit warehouses, which warehouses are positioned within an elevated confining means capable of protecting thestored cotton against damage by flood waters while humid air resulting from the diffusion of water within theare-a enclosed by the confining means is maintained therein and is caused to be passed in contact with the stored bales.

This ,invention. further provides a method of handling cotton which includes the prolonged storage thereof while preserving to the fibers a tensile strength substantially equal to their initial tensile strength and the method comprising the steps of drying the cotton-after picking until it is sufficiently dry to permit ginning without objectionable napping when subjected to the usual ginning operation, then promptly, before the oil naturally occurring in the flbers is evaporated therefrom, subjecting the fibers to humid air to bring the moisture content of the same to such a degree as to avoid evaporation of the natural oil, and thereafter maintaining the moisture content of the fibers substantially con= stant by subjecting the same to contact with humid air until shortly prior to the shipment of the cotton to the mill for the spinning thereof.

As contemplated in one detailed form of the system of this invention, the unit warehouses are arranged in transverse rows with respect to a centrally positioned railroad track and compressor and pairs of these rows of warehouses are separated from adjacent pairs thereof a sufficient distance to permit a hoist type truck to pass over the warehouses of any of the pairs of rows so that the bales may be deposited in or hoisted from any desired warehouses, the bales being transported from or to a desired point without the necessity of handling or otherwise disturbing the bales in other of the warehouses. Furthermore, the unit warehouses are each provided with removable covers, and they are further provided with ventilating openings adjacent the bottoms and the tops thereof.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:-

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of one form of storage plant constructed in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on line l4 of Fig. 1 at the central portion of the enclosure adjacent the bale compressor;

Fig. 5 is a detailed sectional view through the dike and moat illustrating the pumping systems for maintaining the water in the moat at the desired level;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged view of a series of unit warehouses showing the hoist truck in position thereover with a bale being removed from one of the warehouses;

Fig. 7 is a front view of the truck illustrating the manner in which its wheels are spread so as to pass over a pair of rows of the warehouses, one of the warehouses being shown in section;

Fig. 8 is a view illustrating the underside of one of the unit warehouse covers;

Fig. 9 is a plan view of one of the warehouses with its cover entirely removed; and

Fig. 10 is a transverse sectional view through the upper portion of one of the warehouses.

. Now in referring to the drawings in detail and particularly to Fig. 1, the numeral ll designates the storage plant generally, a dike l2 being provided so as to completely surround the same except for an opening therein provided for the entrance of a railroad track l3. The track l3 extends substantially across the entire area of the plant as defined by the dike.

Since I have found that it is preferably to locate the storage plant on low ground because of the normal humidity of the air at such levels, dike l2 affords protection for the plant in the event of floods and also forms a wind break which tends to inhibit the normal breezes from blowing moisture laden air from the plant area.

The dike is preferably reinforced with concrete walls I4 or the like where it is cut away to provide an opening for the railroad track l3 so that in the event of a flood during which the dike is surrounded by flood water, sand bags or other temporary water blocking material may be piled on the track between the walls M. It is intended that the dike for any given plant be built to a height approximately four feet above the record flood level previously encountered in the particular plant location, and in the construction of the dike, the material dug in the formation of a moat I5 is readily available for that purpose.

Moat I 5 preferably extends from one side of the track l3 at the place where it passes between the walls [4 in the dike, entirely around the plant area immediately adjacent the dike, and water for filling the moat may be obtained from any convenient source, but it is desirable to obtain the supply from artesian wells drilled within the plant area.

In the plant specifically set forth in Fig. 1, a pavement is constructed as at [6 adjacent to the moat l5 and extends for the full length of the moat. Pavements also extend along both sides of the track l3, and pavements are provided at l"! and I8 so that they will intersect the track about midway of the plant area. Adjacent the point of the intersection of pavements l7 and I8 with track l3, a compress I9 is located, the compress being utilized for compressing bales of cotton to a reduced size, particularly when the bales are to be thereafter shipped to distant points for processing.

Track I3 where it passes through the dike between walls is at the same level of the area surrounded by the moat, but as shown in Fig. 2, the track is gradually lowered into a channelway 20 is order to facilitate the unloading and loading of the bales from and onto railway cars which may be brought into the plant from an outside railroad. In the position shown in Fig. 3 the floor of the car 2| is caused to be aligned with the platform of a scale 22, which scale is mounted on wheels and is movable to different locations along the pavement. The utility of the scales and the compress in the operation of the plant will be hereinafter more fully referred to. It will be seen that track l3 adjacent the compress is lowered to a level where the bottom of the car is caused to be in the same plane as the pavement whereby compressed bales of cotton or the like may be readily carted into the car for shipment from the plant.

Unit warehouses 23 are arranged in rows which extend transverse with respect to the railway track l3, and the rows of unit warehouses are so spaced that each two rows are closely adjacent while each of the closely adjacent pair of rows of warehouses are separated from other pairs of rows by a narrow pavement 24 which extends the full length of the rows and connects with the pavements bordering the track and moat respectively. The unit warehouses are preferably constructed in the form having metal side walls 25, which are supported with the lower edges thereof in spaced relation to the ground by means of transversely extending bars 26. The bars in turn are secured in elevated position by being embedded in concrete blocks 21. As will be seen ill upon considering Fig. 7 of the drawings, the upper surfaces of the piers in each warehouse constitutes supports for a bale of cotton or the like, and these unit warehouses are constructed of such size that a passageway exists between the exterior of a stored bale and the warehouse walls.

In the preferred form of the invention each warehouse is provided with a cover 28 which is capable of being moved to an inoperative position by first being released from the clamp 29 and thereafter being moved transversely to a point where the free edge of the cover will swing downwardly and lie close against the side of the warehouse. The covers 28 are secured to their respective warehouses by means of bars 30 which extend across the underside of the cover and through eyelets?! positioned upon the side wall 25 remote from the clamp 29. When the covers are in operative position their respective bars are frictionally held in the eyelets 3! until the opposite ends thereof are slightly elevated, whereupon the rods may be moved freely within the eyelets and the covers can be moved laterally and then dropped to the position referred to above, the eyelets 3! being outwardly inclined to permitof the downward movement of the cover. Thus when the covers are in place upon the ware houses one of the ends of the rods 30 are secured in the eyelets 3| while the other ends are in contact with the top of the side wall opposite that to which the eyelets are attached. In this manner the cover is positioned above the top of the warehouse side walls to form a ventilation opening extending around the entire periphery of the warehouse between the cover and top of the side walls. As shown in Figures 8 and 10 the covers are preferably constructed with downwardly directed flanges 28a on each of the cover sides which project over the top of the warehouse walls when the cover is in place for the purpose of deflecting rain and other precipitates from the interior of the warehouse.

A hoist truck 32 of any desirable construction is utilized in the plant, but this truck 32 should be of a wide gauge so that the wheels 33 thereof may when the separate pavements 24, while the truck platform 34 passes above unit warehouses 23 in the rows between said pavements,

Truck 32 is provided with hoisting mechanism mounted upon an elevated framework 35. This mechanism is formed with two stationary parallel shafts 36, and a central driving shaft 31. The shaft 3'! is provided with a series of friction gears (iii, whereas the shafts 36 are provided with freely rotatable corresponding friction gears 39. Each of the gears 39 have a winding drum 4%) affixed thereto and the respective drums: each has a cable 45 secured thereto with their free ends supporting a grapple iron 42. A lever 43, adapted for use in connection with each of the gears 39, is pivoted to a bar 44 supported by the framework 355. Each of said levers 43 has pivoted thereto an idle friction roller 45, which is adapted to be raised and lowered when its respective lever is' moved about the bar 44. Spring clamps 46 are arranged for supporting the free end of the levers 43 in operative or inoperative position as desired. When the levers are lowered their respective friction gear at is caused to engage with the gears 38 and 39 corresponding thereto to thereby cause a driving of the gear 39 and the resultant movement of its winding drum 40. The shaft 3'? is, of course, adapted to be reversed by means of any of the'usual reversing mechanism (not shown) and the grapple irons are respectively adapted to deposit a bale of cotton held thereby into a unit warehouse, or to remove a bale from the warehouse depending upon the direction of rotation of the winding drums. Each of the friction gears 38 has associated therewith a braking device 41, which device is adapted to be applied for holding the winding drum against rotation when a bale of cotton has been drawn upwardly to the position shown in Fig. '7, or when the bale is being lowered.

The hoisting and lowering mechanism, as referred to, is driven by a motor 48, which motor is also utilized as the power means for propelling the truck to permit transporting of the baled cotton to and from the unit warehouses which areto be loaded or unloaded. In the form illustrated, the power is transmitted to the wheels by means of shafts 49 and gearing 50. The vertical shafts 49 for transmitting power to their respective wheels are encased in tubes 51, which tubes are mounted for oscillation, and constitute the supports for the truck body as well as the means for steering the respective wheels. Any well known type of steering mechanism may be employed. For the convenience of the workman, the platform is preferably extended entirely around the truck as indicated at 52.

In practicing the method of handling the material, particularly the handling of cotton, the cotton after harvesting is permitted to dry so that the moisture content thereof is lowered to a degree which will permit smooth ginning. The cotton is then subjected to the ginning operation and immediately thereafter it is baled and transported to the plant as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. The bales are received at the plant on cars passed over the track i3, the cars being preferably stopped at a position substantially as indicated in Fig. 3. Weighing scales 22 are placed in front of the door of the car being unloaded so that as each bale is unloaded the weight thereof can be noted and recorded. The bales are then placed on the pavement and the truck 32 is brought thereover, and each of the bales is then elevated by one of the grapple irons 42 in the manner above referred to. While the bales are being hoisted for transportation by the truck an operator passes down the rows of unit warehouses in which the particular bales are to be stored, and uncovers those warehouses which are to be utilized by moving the respective covers 28 to a position Where they extend down the sides of the respective warehouses. The truck is then brought over a pair of rows of warehouses in the manner indicated in Fig. 7, and it is brought to a position over the uncovered warehouses and one bale of cotton is placed within each of the uncovered warehouses wherein it is supported upon the piers 21.

A record is made as to the bale deposited in a particular warehouse, and after the truck has been moved beyond the filled warehouse, its cover is then moved into operative position. After the truck has deposited all of the bales which it obtained from a new shipment, it is then returned to the point adjacent the car for a further load of bales. Since it is customary to sample and reweigh the bales during the period of storage, it is obvious that by keeping accurate records, a truck after partially or fully unloading the bales carried thereby, may be utilized for withdrawing other bales from the unit warehouses and transporting the same to a position for sampling and reweighing before returning them to designated warehouses.

The newly stored bales having been promptly brought from the ginning operation, are subjected to the humid air present within the plant area as are all of the other bales of cotton in storage. As the moat is filled with water, and since the dike acts as a Windbreaker, the air within the plant area is maintained. of a desired humidity. The air is circulated in contact with the bales by being passed under the edges of the walls 25 of the unit warehouses, and then upwardly around the bales within the warehouses and outwardly through the openings provided around the respective covers 28, as will appear particularly in Fig. 10 of the drawings. It will be understood that the air is caused to circulate through the unit warehouses by means of convection, and this stack draft efiect is increased during the day when the sun tends to heat up the interiors of the unit warehouses.

Due tothis arrangement the newly stored bales of cotton are promptly humidified so that the moisture content thereof is brought up to a degree which will prevent the evaporation of the natural oils occurring in the cotton. As the bales of cotton are then maintained with the desired moisture content during the entire period of storage, there is no tendency for the natural oils to evaporate from the cotton. The bales are then removed and subjected to compression in the compress just prior to the placing of the same on cars for shipment to the mills for spinning and subsequent operations. This conditioning of the cotton fiber has been found to cause the cotton to have a tensile strength equivalent to its initial tensile strength.

In the event of a flood occurring in the vicinity of the plant, the space between the walls M in the .dike is blocked so that the water is excluded from the interior or plant area and the bales in storage are thereby protected against flood damage. When the water on the exterior of the dikes is so high as to prevent natural drainage of excess water from the moat, a pumping system such as shown in detail in Fig. 5 may be utilized for pumping the excess water out of the moat. Such a system is formed with a drain 53, which is adapted to be shut off by a valve 54, and a by-pass pipe 55 is provided so that excess water'may be pumped therethrough by means of a pump 56 in the event of flood water existing exteriorly of the dike.

While under all normal conditions the moat is considered sufiicient for effecting humidification of the air within the plant area, it may be desirable in extremely dry seasons to employ a spraying system in the form of pipes extending below the ground and throughout the plant area, which pipes are formed with nozzles spaced at intervals within the plant area so that water can be sprayed upwardly from the ground and thereby efiect humidification of the air as well as efiect moistening of the ground with resultant subsequent humidification of the air.

The platform 52 of the truck 32 is so elevated that the truck operators may readily look over all of the surrounding unit Warehouses, and therefore it is only necessary that the warehouses be uncovered in order for the truck operators to readily ascertainthe warehouses into which oertain bales are to be stored. This makes it unnecessary to utilize special flagging systems.

While this invention has been described in detail in connection with the particular plant illustrated in the drawings, it is to be understood that it is not intended that the invention be considered to be so limited.

This is a division of my application Serial Number 7,110, filed Feb. 18, 1935, now Patent No. 2,121,495, granted June 21, 1938.

What I claim is:

1. A unit warehouse of the character described comprising normally fixed support means, an open ended enclosure having one of its ends normally uncovered and removably resting upon said support means in such manner that the edges of said end are elevated to permit access of atmospheric air to the interior of the enclosure through said end, a cover removably engaging the other open end of the enclosure, and means for supporting said cover in spaced relation to the last mentioned open end, so as to vent the enclosure through said last mentioned end.

2. A unit warehouse of the chflracter described comprising a plurality of normally fixed relatively spaced blocks, horizontally disposed rods supported by said blocks, an open ended enclosure having one of its ends normally uncovered and removably resting upon said rods in such manner that the edges of said end are elevated to permit free access of atmospheric air to the interior of the enclosure through said end, and cover means for the other open end of the enclosure, said cover means including means for venting the enclosure through said last mentioned end.

3. A unit warehouse of the character. described comprising normally fixed support means, an open ended enclosure having one of its ends normally uncovered and removably resting upon said support means in such manner that the edges of said end are elevated to permit access 01 atmospheric air to the interior of the enclosure through said end, eye members secured to said enclosure contiguous to the other open end and projecting above the plane of the adjacent end edges, a cover, and removable supporting rods extended through said eye members and said cover in such manner as to support the latter in spaced relation to the adjacent open end.

4. A unit warehouse of the character described comprising normally fixed support means, an open ended enclosure having one of its ends normally uncovered and removably resting upon said support means in such manner that the edges of said end are elevated to permit access of atmospheric air to the interior of the enclosure through said end, eye members secured to said enclosure contiguous to the other open end and projecting above the plane of the adjacent end edges, a cover, and removable supporting rods extended through said eye members and said cover in such manner as to support the latter in spaced relation to the adjacent open end, said cover having downturned edges so positioned as to overhang the sides of the enclosure while in operative relation, and in spaced relation thereto.

5. A unit warehouse of the character described comprising normally fixed support means, an open ended enclosure having one of its ends normally uncovered and removably resting upon said support means in such manner that the edges of said end are elevated to permit access of atmospheric air to the interior of the enclosure through said end, eye members secured to said enclosure contiguous to the other open end and projecting above the plane of the adjacent end edges, a cover, rods removably engaging said cover and slidably engaging said eyes in such manner that the cover may be moved transversely of the enclosure, said cover being normally spaced from the adjacent end of the enclosure so as to vent the enclosure at that location.

6. A unit warehouse of the character described comprising normally fixed support means, an open ended enclosure having one of its ends normally uncovered and removably resting upon said support means in such manner that the edges of said end are elevated to permit access of atmospheric air to the interior of the enclosure through said end, a cover hingedly fastened to said enclosure and having downwardly directed flanged edges, and means for supporting the cover with said flanges in spaced relation to the end edges of the other open end so that said enclosure is open to a convection flow therethrough of the surrounding atmosphere.

7. A unit warehouse of the character described comprising normally fixed support means, an open ended enclosure having one of its ends normally uncovered and removably resting upon said support means in such manner that the edges of said end are elevated to permit access of atmospheric air to the interior of the enclosure through said end, a cover slidably and hingedly secured to said enclosure in a position to normally cover the other open end thereof, said cover having peripheral flanges positioned to overhang the side walls Olf said enclosure and to be spaced therefrom so as to provide a vent for the enclosure tothe las mentioned open end. o

OSCAR F. BLEDSOE. 

